U.S. Department of State
1995:  International Adoption -- Uzbekistan
Bureau of Consular Affairs

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
                    INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION IN UZBEKISTAN
     
                                                                     
     DISCLAIMER:  THE INFORMATION IN THIS CIRCULAR RELATING TO THE
     LEGAL REQUIREMENTS OF SPECIFIC FOREIGN COUNTRIES IS PROVIDED
     FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY.  QUESTIONS INVOLVING
     INTERPRETATION OF SPECIFIC FOREIGN LAWS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO
     FOREIGN COUNSEL.                                                
     
     
     PLEASE NOTE
         It is difficult for foreigners to adopt children in
     Uzbekistan.  Ninety percent of the children made available for
     adoption are adopted within Uzbekistan.  There is a large
     waiting list for children and currently, prospective parents
     may wait approximately five to six years before being able to
     adopt.
         Only those children that Uzbek citizens will not or cannot
     adopt will be made available to foreigners.  Generally these
     children are handicapped, or have medical problems that are not
     treatable in Uzbekistan.
         The Uzbek authorities responsible for overseeing adoption
     procedures have recently reduced the number of possible foreign
     adoptions from Uzbekistan.  Therefore, prospective parents
     hoping to adopt orphans from Uzbekistan should be sure to
     clarify the status of their cases before making final travel
     arrangements.  
     
     GENERAL
         The following is a guideline for U.S. citizens who are
     interested in adopting a child in Uzbekistan.  This process can
     be expensive, time-consuming and difficult, involving complex
     foreign and American legal requirements.  Adoptions are given
     careful consideration on a case-by-case basis by both foreign
     judicial authorities and American consular officers to ensure
     that the legal requirements of both countries have been met for
     the protection of the adoptive parent(s), the natural parent(s)
     and the child.  Interested Americans are strongly advised to
     read the following information carefully.  Contact the U.S.
     Immigration and Naturalization Service early in the process,
     before you have identified a specific child to adopt.  Contact
     American consular officials in Uzbekistan before formalizing an
     adoption agreement to ensure that appropriate visa procedures
     have been followed.
     

     AVAILABILITY OF CHILDREN FOR ADOPTION
         Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following
     pattern for visa issuance to orphans:  
     
                  IR-3 Immigrant Visas       IR-4 Immigrant Visas
     Fiscal       Issued to Uzbek                 Issued to Uzbek    
     Year         Orphans Adopted Abroad     Orphans Adopted in U.S.
     
     FY-1992              3                          0
     FY-1993              5                          3
     FY-1994             23                         11
     
     UZBEK ADOPTION AUTHORITY
         The overwhelming majority of adoption cases have been
     processed through the Ministry of Education, which is nominaly
     responsible for overseeing foreign adoptions.  However, while
     the Uzbek adoption law grants the Ministry of Education
     "oversight authority" in adoption cases, it invests local
     officials with the actual authority to approve adoptions. 
     Therefore, other organizations may attempt to impede or
     influence the adoption process.
     
     
     UZBEK ADOPTION PROCEDURES
         In a letter to the Adoption Section of the Ministry of
     Education, the Minister of Education stated that "transferring
     orphans from Uzbekistan to foreign countries for permanent
     residence is no longer necessary."  While this statement is not
     considered to be an order or a decree, it is regarded as a
     strong recommendation to limit adoptions.  There is no formal
     ban on foreign adoptions, but the number of adoptions will be
     considerably curtailed, possibly dropping to the level of one
     or two a year.  However, local authorities may override the
     Ministry of Education's curtailment of foreign adoptions and
     may continue to process adoptions to foreign parents. 
     Officials from the Red Crescent Society have taken advantage of
     this discrepancy in regulations and are currently processing
     small groups of children eligible for adoption abroad.  
     
         The founding charter of the Red Crescent Society grants the
     agency the authority to process adoptions.  To this end, the
     Red Crescent has established a "tayanch", or support agency to
     oversee children's general welfare in Uzbekistan.  In addition,
     the Red Crescent has established a relationship with the
     following U.S. agency to facilitate contact with prospective
     American parents.
     
                  International Assistance Group (I.A.G.)
                  21 Brilliant Avenue
                  Pittsburgh, PA  15213
     
                  Contact:  Larisa Mason
                  business: 412-781-6470          home: 412-963-1838
                  fax:      412-7SL-0575
     
         The Tayanch works directly with the director of the
     Tashkent city orphanage.  It sends photos and videocassettes of
     adoptable children to I.A.G., which in turn compiles a packet
     of biographical and financial information on selected
     prospective parents.  Once this information is transmitted back
     to the Tayanch, the Red Crescent, the orphanage, the deputy
     mayor, and the city regional office must all approve the
     pairing of parents and child.  At no time is the Ministry of
     Education, nominally responsible for all foreign adoption,
     consulted for approval.
         Once the American parents are approved for the adoption of
     an Uzbek child, the Tayanch works in conjunction with the Civil
     Registry Office (ZAGS) to prepare a certificate of adoption and
     and official change of name for the child.  (It is also
     possible that ZAGS will issue a new birth certificate bearing
     the child's new name.)
         In addition to its other duties, the Tayanch will escort
     children to the United States if the American parents cannot or
     do not wish to travel to Uzbekistan to receive the child. 
     I.A.G. will provide airfare for the escorts and also will make
     a donation of "humanitarian assistance," primarily consisting
     of clothes and medicine, to the Tayanch and to orphanages in
     Uzbekistan.
         Though the Red Crescent Society has not been officially
     recognized by the Ministry of Education, the I.A.G.-Red
     Crescent connection will remain the principal conduit for the
     adoption of orphans from Uzbekistan to the United States unless
     the Ministry of Education revises its regulations. 
     Transactions with the I.A.G.-Red Crescent have thus far proven
     to be easier than dealing with the Ministry; extra fees are not
     necessary to facilitate the adoption process and the influence
     of the Red Crescent officials ensures that bureaucratic hurdles
     are easily overcome.

         The following documents should be compiled by prospective
     parents wishing to adopt in Uzbekistan:
     
     1.  A joint application by parents who are requesting to adopt,
     including:
              a.  Full name of both parties
              b.  Address of applicants
              c.  Potential adopted child's age and sex
              d.  Possible change in the child's data (i.e. name,
                  family name, place and date of the child's birth)
              e.  Certification of awareness of the child's health,
                  physical and mental state
     
     2.  A home study and a copy of the license of the organization
     performing the study.
     
     3.  An income statment, including bank and wage statements.
     
     4.  A medical certificate for each adopting parent.
     
     5.  Copies of passports.
     
         Uzbekistan intends to ratify the Hague Convention on
     International Cooperation and Protection concerning
     Intercountry Adoption.
     
     
     TRANSLATION REQUIREMENTS
         All documents submitted to Uzbek adoption authorities must
     be accompanied by a notarized, legalized translation into the
     Uzbek language.
     
     
     UZBEK EMBASSY IN THE UNITED STATES
         The address of the Uzbek Embassy is as follows:
     
                   Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan
                   1511 K Street, N.W.
                   Suites 619 and 623
                   Washington, D.C.  20005
                   tel:  (202) 638-4266
                               638-4267
                   fax:  (202) 638-4268
     
     Uzbekistan also has a consulate in New York, New York.
     

     AMERICAN EMBASSY IN UZBEKISTAN
         The address of the American Embassy in Uzbekistan is as
     follows:
     
                   U.S. Embassy
                   American Citizen Services
                   82 Chelanzanskaya
                   Tashkent, Uzbekistan
                   tel:  (7) (3712) 77-14-07
                                    77-10-81
                   fax:  (7) (3712) 77-69-53
     
     DOCTORS
         The U.S. Embassy/Consulates all maintain current lists of
     doctors and sources for medicines, should either you or your
     child encounter health problems while still in Uzbekistan.
     
     
     QUESTIONS
         Specific questions regarding adoptions in Uzbekistan may be
     addressed to the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy or
     Consulate.  You may also contact the Office of Children's
     Issues, U.S. Department of State, Room 4800 N.S., 2201 C
     Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.  20520-4818, telephone (202)
     647-2688 with specific adoption questions.  Recorded
     information concerning significant changes in adoption
     procedures is available 24 hours a day at: (202) 736-7000, or
     by automated fax (calling from the telephone on your fax
     machine) at (202) 647-3000.  If the country you are interested
     in is not listed, procedures have not significantly changed. 
     Information on immigrant visas is available from the State
     Department's Visa Office, at (202) 663-1225.  This 24 hour
     automated system includes options to speak with consular
     officers during business hours for questions not answered in
     the recorded material.  Application forms and petitions for
     immigrant visas are available from the U.S. Immigration and
     Naturalization Service, the nearest office of which is listed
     in the federal pages of your telephone book, under  U.S.
     Department of Justice.
     
         In addition, the State Department publishes Consular
     Information Sheets and Travel Warnings.  Consular Information
     Sheets are available for every country in the world, providing
     information such as the location of the U.S. Embassy, health
     conditions, political situations, and crime reports.  When
     situations are sufficiently serious that the State Department
     recommends U.S. citizens avoid traveling to a country, a Travel
     Warning is issued.  Both Consular Information Sheets and Travel
     Warnings may be heard 24 hours a day by calling the State
     Department's Office of Overseas Citizens Services at
     (202) 647-5225 from a touch-tone telephone.  The recording is
     updated as new information becomes available.  In addition,
     this information is accessible through the automated fax
     machine, as above, and is also available at any of the 13
     regional passport agencies, field offices of the U.S.
     Department of Commerce, and U.S. Embassies and Consulates
     abroad.  Furthermore, you may write in requesting information,
     sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Overseas Citizens
     Services, Room 4811 N.S., 2201 C St., N.W., U.S. Department of
     State, Washington, D.C.  20520-4818.  Finally, information is
     available through your personal computer.  If you have a
     computer and a modem, you can access the Consular Affairs
     Bulletin Board (CABB).  This service is free of charge, and may
     be reached at: (202) 647-9225.  Consular Information Sheets and
     Travel Warnings may also be accessed by subscribers to many
     on-line services.  For complete information on accessing
     consular information via computer, please request document
     1016, entitled "Consular Information Program," from the
     automated fax system, which is described in the preceding
     paragraph.
     
     APPLYING FOR U.S. CITIZENSHIP FOR AN ADOPTED CHILD
         Questions about naturalization of an adopted child as a
     U.S. citizen after the child has entered the United States
     should be addressed to the INS office with jurisdiction over
     the adoptive parent(s)' place of residence.  The process
     requires that INS Form N-643 Application for Certificate of
     Citizenship in behalf of an Adopted Child, be filed with the
     INS before the child is 18 years of age.
     
     
     CONCLUSION
         Interested Americans should be aware that the process of
     adopting a child in Uzbekistan and bringing the child to the
     U.S. may be time-consuming and difficult.  The American Embassy
     and Consulates General and the Department of State stand ready
     to assist adoptive parents, within the limits of our
     authority.  U.S. citizens arriving abroad to finalize an
     adoption are advised to proceed carefully with all local
     foreign adoption procedures.  They should also work closely
     with the nearest U.S. Embassy/Consulate throughout the adoption
     process to ensure that the child selected will qualify for U.S.
     immigration benefits and that all the necessary documents are
     in order.  
     
(###)